Q: I’ve read through many of your answers regarding using cork as an underlayment for laminate for sound and even warmth.
I notice though that some of the products already come with “attached underlayment”, for example ALLOC. Their video says that using other underlayments may cause the product not to work effectively and potentially void the warranty.
I guess my question is if you buy a product with the underlayment can you add another-for example the 3mm cork you mention to help with the warmth and sound or should you just stick to whatever their attached underlayment is?
Thanks!
Stacy
A: This can be a very trick endeavor. According to the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act, as long as the underlayment you are using is of equal or better quality than the underlayment from the manufacturer then your warranty can not be voided because you used an underlayment not made by that manufacturer.
Assuming you were to use cork, which is a standard in the flooring industry as the premium underlayment, then you should not have this issue of warranty problems, but if you want to be safe I would suggest contacting Alloc directly. If they suggest one of their own products to go under the floor, then its a safe bet that cork will do the trick as well.
